Picture studio



L. BROWN.

PICTURE STUDIO.

APPucmoN man 1An.2o. |920.

Patented sept. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SEIU l.

L. BROWN.

PICTURE STUDIO. APPLICATION mm JAN. 2o, |920.

M2. fm 1H mf am V mm /nd wm #o m2 D Lm D..

Patented Sept.g5, 1922.

UNITED STATES` LLOYD Almowla oF'Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, AssIGNon ToSILENT :DRAMA sYNDI` PATENT OFFICE.

GATE, A TRUSTEESHIP, LLOYD BROWN AND ALEXANDER GRAYDON, TBUSTEES'.

PICTURE sTUDIo.

application med January 2o, 192e. serial No. 352,766.

, cordingly, I now To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LLOYD BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State ofCalifornia,` have inventedy new and useful Improvements in PictureStudios, of which thev following isa specification.

Ihis invention relates to studios and resorting to artificialillumination is mini-l mized or done away with.

Although, as I say, my studio is not necesa -sarily limited to theproduction of motion pictures, lit will facilitate an understanding ofthe invention to. describe my studio as it is designed particularly forthe production of motion pictures. From such a specific description ofthe studio as designed particularly and used specifically for theproduction of motion pictures, the broad aspects and features of myinvention, as well as detailed features applied particu larly for thispurpose, will be apparent'. Ac-

tion of that speci c and preferred form of the invention whichis adaptedparticularly to the motion picture art.

In the production of moti-on pictures there are a great manydisadvantages inherent in studio constructions and arrangements andinherent in operations. therein carried on, bthat my invention seeksftoovercome. Among some of these disadvantages I lmay mention particularlythe lack of concentrationof properties andeffects.4 As seen later, mystudio accompllshesgreat concentration and puts everything in verylconvenient relation so that the setting vup and shifting of scenes,etc., may be accomplished with the minimum of labon, `Furthermore,

the managing oices andguarters for properties. and dressingl quartersare allv concenlfrom natural means.

proceed to give a `descriptrated in al small area together with thestage upon which scenes are set and upon which the acting takes place,so that a minimum amount of moving about is required of the personsconcerned in the production of a picture.

Furthermore, artlficial illumination to a great degree has to beresorted to in' the present production of motion pictures because of thechanging illumination available For instance, when an interior sceneisset up, it must be set in some fixed position and oo-ordination with 1reference to the sun. The natural illumina-y y, tlon of this scene ofcourse varies fromf'. .by x

hour to hour during the day; and evenif the natural sun illumination issuitable for such an interior scene at somel particular hour of the day,it will not` be suitable at any other time.

It .is one of the objects of the invention, and one of its primaryfeatures,-that it provides means for control of the natural sunilluminatlon in such a way as to make natural illumination available forinterior scenes, etc.; and, furthermore, makes natural illuminationeasily controllable throughout the hours of the day.` It is a feature ofmy invention that it for originally obtaining the desired illuminationbut also 4for controlling. natural particular scene may be kept the samefrom provides means not only 485 `illumination so that the illummationof any hour to hour; and so that, within` a concentrated arrangementandy constructie-11` any desired kind -of illumination may be had,either direct, open sunlight, or sunlight diffused in such -a way as tolcast no shadow,

or sunlight either in its full intensity or re'- ducedto any desireddegree.

VFor the purposes of now giving a better and more detailed understandingof my in'- vention, I now enter into a detailed description of yapreferred form of studio construc- ,tion adapted particularly to motionpicture work; and from this description the broad `.and general featuresof my invention, as f well asthe details of the present preferredurposes I refer to the accompanying drawn in which ig.. 1 is a sideelevation, showing my improved studio arrangement and construc- 'formthereof, will be apparent. For these tion, with parts shown in verticalsection;

Fig. 2 is a plan. view thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical detail sectionshowing the construction of several of the parts; and Fig. 4 is a detailperspective showing construction and arrangement of the canopy.

I provide a housin. structure which may be made of an exterlor planconfiguration suitable to the effective use of ground space. (It is mydesign in the use of my invention, to use a number, perhaps a largenumber of these studio structures in juxtaposition to each other, and.in conjunction with a common laboratory, shopbuildings, etc.) Thus theexterior structure may beA square or rectangular in plan, with fourexterior Walls .10. The faades of these exterior wallsmay be ornamentedin any suitable manner, or these walls may be exteriorly s soconstructed and arranged that any desired orna mentation or scenery maybe placed before them, so'that the exterior may be" used as scenerybackground for taking of certain pictures, street scenes,etc. Arrangedaround 4this structure, 1n hollow square arrangement, are the variousrooms which maybe used as managers and directors oices, and ofiice forassistant director, and property rooms and the various dressing rooms.

These rooms are designated by the num erals 11, 12 and -13.

The roof of the structure forms the iioor i' 15. This floor has, in itscentral part, a cir- 'cular opening. 15, anda circular rotatable stage-16- fills this opening and forms a con#l tinuationof the floor 15. Forall ,purposes and intents,iwhen-the circular stage is at' rest, thestage 16 and the Hoor 15 form one continuous ioor. It will be observedthat the roof which forms the stationary floor 15 projects into closeproximity, on substan-- tially the 'same level, to the edge of the stage16; and in the form of the. invention shown in Fig. 2, this-stationaryfloor 15 projects inwardly, at the corners at least of. the stationarystructure, vover the open space or quadrangle enclosed by thestationarystructure, so`that a veryl substantial stationary floor orworking area-is providedl adjacent the rotatable stage.

Arrangement -"for access to the interior space .18 within the hollowsquare|` of rooms and beneath thev stage 16, and thus to the various roos through suitable doors 19, may be arr nged for in any suitable manner.For instance, there may be entrances at 20 and 21, and from theseentrances an inclined way 22 may lead up to the floor 15, It is obvlousthat instead of this ramp 22, .a

stairway might be provided. An inclined. Vway 1s preferable to stairs,and the Way mav beof a suitably gentle slope to facilitate the 'easytransportation of heavy or large effects. I l

The` circular stage 16 may be constructed in any suitable manner and iscarried upon a circular track 30. Wheels 31 mounted on the underside ofthe stage floor run upon this track. These wheels may be flanged so asto keep the stage centered; or the stage may be wholly centered by theaction of the vertical shaft32. Central vertical shaft 32 is suitablymounted with respect to the stage and rotates therewith. This shaft mayhave 'at its lower end a bearing 33 and it carries a large gear 34driven by pinion, 35 from a motor 36. The controls Eo be located in anysuitable position, .and preferably at some place upon'the floor 15, sothat the person controlling the motor may/ observe the position of thestage. Thus, for

instance, the controls may be located in a possible consistent withsuitable strength.l

The frame is movable vertically upon cenr motor 36 may -tral shaft 32and is supported'by cbles 43 which are attached to ring 40 and pass overpulleys 44 and thence pass down to alsmall trois for 'motor 46 may alsobe in control house 37. Pulleys 444 are mounted in a ring 47 preferablyrotatable .about the shaft 32. The ring 40 fits shaft 32 loosel sothatthe canopies may be moved rotative y around the shaft and may alsobe moved up and down on the shaft.

The canopy frame may be covered with fabric or any other suitablecovering. For instance, if a fabric is used, it may be supportedupon theframe and upon supporting Wires 50; .and cords 51' and 52 may bearranged in any of the well 'known manners so that the, fabric 53, whichwill be arranged in sections, may be extended out to cover the Wholecanopy 'frame or may be reefed or parts of it may be uncovered, or the-Whole may be uncovered. Certain parts of the canopy frame may becovered with a heavy fabric, suchI as heavy canvas that will transmitrelatively little light; andother sectlons, say three of four sections(for instance, the ones' shown reefed in Fig. 2) may be of thin muslinto act as light diifusers, transmitting a large amount of diffusedlight.

The canopy, as hereinbefore described may be moved vertically and it isapparent .that itmay also be rotated around the shaft 3 2. hen thecanopy is set in any desired po- -winch 45 operated by motor l46. Thecon- 4 back against frame members41- ofthe Acansition, then it is guyeddown .securely by guy ropes 55. And these guy-ropesalso are the mediumsthrough which the canopy maybe rotatedabout the vertical shaft to anydesired position -relative to the shaft and relative to the stage 16.'It'will thus beseen that the stage may beA rotated to any desiredposition relative to the floor and'to any` desired ordination or anydesired position relative tothe position of the shaft. Also it Will beseen .that the canopy may .be raised or lowered so' as to put it higherabove or closer down upon the settings upon stage 16; also that thecanopy `covering may be reefed or extended to suit the lightingrequirements.

. And, further, the canopy maybe rotated with reference to the-stage;and this is very yturn any desired part of the stage to a pointconvenient because, if 'certain parts of the canopy fabric are reefed,then it is very4 easy to turn the open portions ofthe canopy ov-erthat'part of the stage where open light is desired. Furthermore, afterany portions of the canopy covering are arranged togive just the lightdesired, that light is easily maintained. upon the setting by suitablerotation of the stage andv also by suitable relative rotation of thecanopy from time to time. It will thus be readily recognized that anydesired lighting effect may be produced, l'and whenproduced may bemaintainedby proper movement ofthe stage' and canopy.,

Furthermore, the movement of the stage greatly facilitates the operationof setting up. and vtaking down scenes. v0n a stage of this character(which may, for instance, be about eighty feet or more in diameter) anumber ofsettings may be put up; and it is very desirable andconvenientto .be able to immedlately adjacent the runway 22: so thatproperties "and effects brought up the runway may be immediatelytransferred 'tol the stage without having to be carried around' thefloor; although the fioor provides means for moving around the 'stagefrom setting to setting as` desired.v A manager `may operate severalcompanies fof actors at the same time in the concentrated space uponsuch la stage,

and may do so very easily becausev he is .in close contact with all suchcompanies at allV times. j

, There is an advantage also in the elevated arrangemeni of the stageand floor; in that I amenabled, by such an arrangement to put thedirecting offices, .property rooms,

dressing rooms, etc., close to the stage itself, and at the same timenot have them in a position where they cut off light from the edges ofthe stage. In the usual arrangement of studios, if the dressing roomsare close to the stage itself, they cut off'l light from the edgeportions of the stage, :1nd from the stage in general; or they must beplaced atsuch adistance as to be somewhat V nconvenient- By elevatingthe floor and stage I obtain-unobstructed vlight for the stage; and atthe same time I am enabled to efficiently utilize the space below thefioor and stage for the offices and rooms, etc.

While I have given a description with some particularity and detail, Ihave done so not only 4for making the preferred form of my inventionintelligible and readily understood, but also for the purpose of'illus`trating and typifying my inyention, and not for the .purpose of pointingout its limits. Believing my invention to be broad in its scope andcharacter, I do not limit myself to the particular things herein setforth, but

only considerlnyinvention limited in scope as may be expressed in thefollowing claims, which are to be read and interpreted ina broad andfundamental as well as in aspecific sense relating to the structureherein described. n U

- Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. In a picture studio construction, the;

combination of` an elevated rotatable stage, a stationary roofed andchambered structure surrounding said rotatable stage with its roofsurface Yforming a stationary floor substantially level therewith, andaninclined 'approach leading to said stationary floor and stage. A

2. In a picture studio construction, the combination of an elevatedrotatable stage of substantially circular formation, a substantiallyrectangular roofed and chambered structure surrounding said stage withits roof forming a stationary fioor substantially level with and closelyfitted tosaid rotatable stage, an entrance in said stationary structurebelow the stationary floor to give access to the chambered sections, andleading through'said stationary structure to the roof" thereof-to giveaccess to the stationary Hoor and stage.

3. In a picture studio construction, the

combination of an elevated rotatable stage of substantially circularformation, 'a sta.

tionary structure surrounding said stage,vthe roof of which forms astationary floor substantially level and in continuation of said stage,a canopy support rising from said stage, a canopy mounted onsaid'support,

means for raising and lowering said canopy V by said support above thestage, said canopy having relatively opaque and translucent lightdiffusing parts.

6. A picture studio construction, embodying in combination a rotatablestage, a rotatably and vertically adjustable canopy frame, a coveringcarried by said frame above the stage adapted to be extended or foldedupon the canopy frame.

7. A picture studio construction embodying incombination,"a rotatablestage, a rotatably .and vertically adjustable canopy frame and lightdiffusing canopy coverings carried by said frame above the stage adaptedto be extended or folded upon the said frame.

8. A picture studio construction embodying in combination a vcentralelevated rotata ing the stage and having a roof forming an elevatedlicor surroundlng the stage and forming a continuation thereof, saidstructure includin below said licor suitable roomsfor ol ces anddressing rooms; and a canopy supported above the rotatable stage androtatably adjustable with reference thereto.

9. A picturestudio construction embodyin in combination a centralelevated-rotata le stage, a stationary structure surround- Iing thestage and having a roof forming an elevated floor surrounding the sta eand forming a continuation thereof, sai structure includin below itsfloor suitable rooms.

for offices an dressingrooms; and a canopy having light diffusingportions supported above the rotatable stage and rotatably adjustablewith reference thereto.

10. A picture studio construction, embodyin in combination a centralelevated rotatab e stage, a stationary structurev surrounding the stageland having an elevated floor surrounding the stage and forming acontinuation thereof, said structure including below its floor suitablerooms for oflices and dressing rooms; a canopy support and a canopyvsupported above the stage, vand rotatab y and vertically adjustable withreferencethereto. y

11. A picture studio construction, embodyin in` combination a centralelevated rotatab e stage, a stationaryV structure surrounding the stageand having an elevated floor surrounding the stage and forming acontinuation thereof, said structure including belowitsloor suitablerooms for oiices frame and y adapted .to

and dressing rooms; aicent'ral vertical shaft rising from the stage, acanopyframe mounted u on said central vertical shaft to be vertica yadjustable thereon and `,rotatably adjustable thereon with reference tothe shaft and to. the rotatable stage, and canopy .coverings arran edupon the canopy e spread or reefed as desired.

le stage, a stationarystructure surround:

12. A picture studio construction, em bodyin in combination a centralelevated rotatab e stage, a stationary structure surrounding the stageand having an elevated floor surrounding the stage and forming aAmounted upon said central vertical shaft to be vertically adjustablethereon and rotatably adjustable thereon with reference to the shaft andto the rotatable stage, and canopy coverings arranged upon the canopyframe and adapted to be spread or reefed qas desired; some of saidcanopy coverings bein relatively opaque and others being relativelytranslucen 13. In a picture Studio construction, the combination of amovable stage, a canopy support, a canopy mounted on said support abovethe stage and independently movable relative thereto, said` canopyhaving relatively shiftable parts capable of adjustment to vary thelight passing through different sections of said canopy.

14. In a picture studio construction, the

combination of a movable stage, a canopy support, a canopy mounted onvsaid support above said stage and shiftable vertically relative to saidstage, said canopy having relatively shiftable parts capable ofadjustment to vary. the li ht passing through different sections of saidcanopya 15. Ina picture studio construction, the combi-nation di amovable stage, a canopy support, a lcanopy mounted on said 'supportabove said stage and shiftable rotatably relative to said stage,saidcanop having relatively shiftablepparts capab e of adjustment tovary the light passing through different sections of said canopy.

16. In a picture studio construction, the combination of a movablestage, a canopy support, a'canopy mounted on said support above saidstage and shiftable rotatably and vertically relative to said stage,said canopy` having relatively shift'able parts capable yof ustment tovary thev light passing through disposed canopy support rising from saidstage, a canopy mounted on said support, means for raising and loweringsaid canopy, said canopy comprising` areas made up of shiftable membersto vary the. light passing through sections of said canopy.

^ 18. In a picture studio construction, the

combination of a rotatable Stage,-a centrally sdisposed canopy supportrising from said stage, a canopy mounted on said support and-- rotatablethereon independently of said stage, means for raising` and loweringsaid canopy, said canopy comprising areas made up of shiftable membersto vary the light passin through'sections of said canopy.

19. n a picture studio construction, the combination of a stationarystructure surrounding an open space and provided with rooms, a roof forsaid structure extending inwardly over a part of said open space andforming a stationary, floor, a rotatable sta e mounted in said openspace substantial y on a level with and forming a continuation of saidroof, a canopy support rising eentrally from said rotatable stage, acanopy mounted on said support, and means for raising and lowering saidcanopy.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 31st day of December',` 1919.

LLOYD BROWN. 1

Witness:

VIRGINIA I. BERINGER'.

